


patron saint of lost causes

by Anewhope303



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: BAMF Padmé Amidala, Canon Compliant, Character Study, F/M, Inspired by Florence + the Machine, Inspired by Music, Poetry, Sad Ending, Sad Padmé Amidala
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-14 17:08:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29545626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anewhope303/pseuds/Anewhope303
Summary: she always wore grief like a second skinall the yellow dresses and soft smiles in the galaxy couldnt quite mask the sorrow
Relationships: Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	patron saint of lost causes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HolyHellHamilton](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HolyHellHamilton/gifts).



> inspired by and title from the song st jude by florence + the machine
> 
> dedicated to holyhellhamilton because he's just the sweetest and they were really helpful with listening some of my poetry
> 
> also this is canon compliant aka really sad sorry in advance
> 
> anyway onto the fic

She always wore grief like a second skin

Most people wouldn't have seen it

She did a good job of hiding from casual viewers behind intricate costumes and the strength of her convictions

But those who knew her could tell that she wore her quiet despair too well for an end that was anything less than tragic

Some would call her too good for this world, the first flower of spring plucked from the ground by those who didn't deserve her

When they looked back on her, knowing what they did now

It seemed like her laughter was alway laced with the inevitable

All the yellow dresses and soft smiles in the galaxy can't quite mask the sorrow

They called her the patron saint of lost causes after her death

Champion of a dying democracy, the honest politician in an age of corruption, the peacemaker in a world of war

Those closest to her started a revolution against the empire in memory of her ideals

Pilots of the rebellion whispered her name over the comms of their starfighters while on dangerous missions, half in hopes of surviving somehow, half to gain strength from her image to face the inevitable 

The people of her home planet left her favorite flowers at her tomb, remembering how under her queenship things were so much better than under its other child’s current iron fist

There was a rumor that if you placed a Nubian rose petal on the steps of her mausoleum, you wouldn't get stopped by a stormtrooper on your way to work

Nineteen years after her death, a certain princess invoked her memory while under imperial torture, holding strong until a certain farmboy in stolen white armor came to her aid

They all elevated her to myth, made her so much larger than the woman she really was

And like any myth, the truth was stretched, things were left out 

Very few know, and fewer still care to tell of her heart’s other dying crusade

Anakin Skywalker

The one that did everything to protect her yet unknowingly sacrificed her like a ram on the altar all the same

Their story seemed so foolish, so unmistakably human in hindsight, it was no wonder that it was left out of the official records

She knew from the start it wasn't safe, that there was no way that falling in love with him would ruin both of them

It was forbidden anyway, she would be risking both of their careers if she let herself go

That should have been enough of a deterrent, that should have saved them both 

But a bright smile and adorably awkward words broke down her shields against her better judgement

And people like her dont just fall in love

They tumble, plummet, devote their entire heart to the feeling 

She should have known from the start that he would be the death of her

But he made her happy in a way she hadn't been in a long time

When everyone else saw her as a queen, a senator, a larger than life political figure

He saw her as she really was, fierce, soft, beautiful, fallible, and when he told her there wasn't a hint of insincerity 

And when he touched her she couldn't remember why it was so wrong

For a time she was so drunk on the joy she forgot what she knew was waiting

Until it all came crashing down in an instant

When she saw the yellow replace his blue eyes she knew this was the end, that reality had finally caught up to them 

She had cut him a piece of her

And perhaps he was blinded by love too

But when he broke her heart there was nothing left, no shattered pieces to pick up in the aftermath

In the end he was right, in a way

Love couldn't save her in the end

Perhaps she was best remembered by Vader himself

Who was cursed to still remember a time when they were flawlessly happy 

Before the nightmare and the temple and the creation of the empire

Before wars and politics and infighting

When he still had the limbs that held her, and the laugh that made her brown eyes sparkle

Now her voice haunts him, soft and kind, tearful and pleading, weak and fading

Now she’s just an echo inside an empty shell 

The first in a line of skywalker tragedies

**Author's Note:**

> so you reached the end of the fic. congragulations
> 
> support your local fanfic dealer by leaving kudos and a comment. tell me what i did right, tell me what i could work on, or idk something else comments give me seritonin 
> 
> have a nice day!


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